Giambattista Bodoni (1740–1813) was called the King of Printers and the Bodoni font owes its creation in 1767 to his masterful cutting techniques. Predecessors in a similar style were the typefaces of Pierre Simon Fournier (1712–1768) and the Didot family (1689–1836).

The Bodoni font distinguishes itself through the strength of its characters and embodies the rational thinking of the Enlightenment. The new typefaces displaced the Old Face and Transitional styles and was the most popular typeface until the mid-19th century. Bodoni’s influence on typography was dominant until the end of the 19th century and, even today, inspires new creations.

Working with this font requires care, as the strong emphasis of the vertical strokes and the marked contrast between the fine and thick lines lessens Bodoni’s legibility, and the font is therefore better in larger print with generous spacing.

Bauer Bodoni appeared in 1926 with the Bauer font foundry. It was designed by typeface designer and book binder, Heinrich Jost (1889–1949), who was the artistic director of the foundry from 1922 until 1948. The forms are closely related to those of the original font and they are more delicate and elegant than many other Bodoni interpretations.